{"id":74,"date":"2020-11-23T11:22:57","date_gmt":"2020-11-23T11:22:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/io\/?page_id=74"},"modified":"2025-03-25T11:29:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T09:29:00","slug":"group","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/io\/group\/","title":{"rendered":"Group"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n<div class=\"person-card\">\n        <h2>Group Leader<\/h2>\n    \n                    <div class=\"person-card-item\">\n                    <div class=\"person-card-column-left\">\n                                                    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"person-card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/io\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2023\/08\/Anu-Kauppinen_kuva-1-e1693398457590.jpg\" alt=\"Anu Kauppinen_kuva\" \/>\n                                            <\/div>\n\n                    <div class=\"person-card-column-right\">\n                                                <p class=\"person-card-name\">Anu Kauppinen, Professor (Pharmaceutical Cell Biology and Immunology)<\/p>\n                        \n                        \n                        \n                                                <p class=\"person-card-text\"> Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy,\r\nUniversity of Eastern Finland                                                                                          \r\nE-mail: anu.kauppinen (at) uef.fi\r\n<\/p>\n                        \n                                            <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"links-block\">\n\n    \n    <ul class=\"link-list\">\n        \n            \n            <li class=\"link-list-item\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/io\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2024\/05\/Publications_Kauppinen_May2024.pdf\" class=\"link-reset link hover-scale-down\">\n                    <svg\n        width=\"43\" height=\"25\"\n        viewBox=\"0 0 43 25\"\n        xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n    <path\n        d=\"M30.027 0 43 12.5 30.027 25 27 22.083 34.351 15H0v-5h34.351L27 2.917z\"\n        fill=\"currentColor\"\n        fill-rule=\"evenodd\"\/>\n<\/svg>                    <div>Publications<\/div>\n                <\/a>\n                <div class=\"link-info\">\n                                    <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n\n                <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"person-card\">\n        <h2>Post-doctoral Researchers<\/h2>\n    \n                    <div class=\"person-card-item\">\n                    <div class=\"person-card-column-left\">\n                                                    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"person-card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/io\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2020\/11\/Maria-Hytti.jpg\" alt=\"Maria Hytti_kuva\" \/>\n                                            <\/div>\n\n                    <div class=\"person-card-column-right\">\n                                                <p class=\"person-card-name\">Maria Hytti, PhD Pharm<\/p>\n                        \n                        \n                        \n                                                <p class=\"person-card-text\">She studied Pharmacy at the Ernst-Moritz Arndt University in Greifswald, from which she graduated in November 2011.\r\n\r\nThe practical work for her Diploma thesis entitled \u201cThe role of the tyrosinase gene in pigmented cells of the eye and brain\u201d was performed at the Department of Biopharmacy of the University of Eastern Finland. She returned to Finland and for her PhD research on \u201cInflammation in age-related macular degeneration and its regulation by Sirtuin ligands\u201d and defended her PhD (Pharm) successfully in 2016. Her postdoctoral research focuses on the role of mitochondria in AMD and as potential treatment targets.\r\n<\/p>\n                        \n                                            <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                                        <div class=\"person-card-item\">\n                    <div class=\"person-card-column-left\">\n                                                    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"person-card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/io\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2023\/09\/Bhattarai_Niina-0108-10x15cm-e1694430347109.jpg\" alt=\"Niina Harju_kuva\" \/>\n                                            <\/div>\n\n                    <div class=\"person-card-column-right\">\n                                                <p class=\"person-card-name\">Niina Harju (Bhattarai), PhD<\/p>\n                        \n                        \n                        \n                                                <p class=\"person-card-text\">She studied Biosciences with advanced studies in Biochemistry at the University of Eastern Finland and graduated in 2014. She has also studied Chemistry at the University of Jyv\u00e4skyl\u00e4 and Pharmacy at the University of Eastern Finland.\r\nShe worked for couple of years in preclinical pharmaceutical research at Charles River before starting PhD studies in 2017. The topic of her PhD project was the regulation of inflammatory responses in retinal pigment epithelial cells.\r\n<\/p>\n                        \n                                            <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                                        <div class=\"person-card-item\">\n                    <div class=\"person-card-column-left\">\n                                                    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"person-card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/io\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2023\/09\/Korhonen-Eveliina-10x15-1-e1694430618941.jpg\" alt=\"Eveliina_kuva\" \/>\n                                            <\/div>\n\n                    <div class=\"person-card-column-right\">\n                                                <p class=\"person-card-name\">Eveliina Korhonen, PhD<\/p>\n                        \n                        \n                        \n                                                <p class=\"person-card-text\">She finalized in December 2023 her PhD project that elucidated the molecular mechanisms of corneal disorders and age-related macular degeneration. Her research is focused on investigating inflammasome-dependent regulation of cytokine production upon failure of cellular homeostasis in human corneal and retinal pigment epithelial cells.\r\nApart from her doctoral project, Eveliina has been working as a specializing clinical chemist at the Helsinki University Hospital.\r\n<\/p>\n                        \n                                            <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                                        <div class=\"person-card-item\">\n                    <div class=\"person-card-column-left\">\n                                                    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"person-card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/io\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2023\/09\/Raja_kuva.jpg\" alt=\"Rajan kuva\" \/>\n                                            <\/div>\n\n                    <div class=\"person-card-column-right\">\n                                                <p class=\"person-card-name\">Iswariyaraja Sridevi Gurubaran, PhD<\/p>\n                        \n                        \n                        \n                                                <p class=\"person-card-text\">He performed his Master\u2019s in Molecular biology at the University of Sk\u00f6vde, Sweden in 2012. He wrote his thesis on \u201cPhenotypic analysis of Crb2 knockdown in retinal explant and Crb2 conditional knockout (cKO) mice\u201d at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, the Netherlands. Later, he moved to the University of Copenhagen and started working as a research assistant at the Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology. There, he investigated the impact of M\u00fcller glial cells on mitochondrial dynamics and how they contribute to the neuroprotection of ganglion cells in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative glaucoma.\r\nHe joined the Immuno-Ophthalmology group in 2017 as a PhD student and has been studying oxidative stress and its impact on mitophagy (a selective form of autophagy) on the novel PGC1\u03b1\/NRF2 double knockout mice model (Felszeghy et al., 2018), as well as inflammasome activation in vitro using the aggregation model of ARPE-19 (Piippo et al., 2014). As his post-doc project, he is performing immunohistochemical analyses on human eyes.\r\n<\/p>\n                        \n                                            <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"links-block\">\n\n    \n    <ul class=\"link-list\">\n        \n            \n            <li class=\"link-list-item\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ocuther.eu\/\" class=\"link-reset link hover-scale-down\">\n                    <svg\n        width=\"43\" height=\"25\"\n        viewBox=\"0 0 43 25\"\n        xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n    <path\n        d=\"M30.027 0 43 12.5 30.027 25 27 22.083 34.351 15H0v-5h34.351L27 2.917z\"\n        fill=\"currentColor\"\n        fill-rule=\"evenodd\"\/>\n<\/svg>                    <div>OcuTher project<\/div>\n                <\/a>\n                <div class=\"link-info\">\n                                    <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n\n                <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"person-card\">\n        <h2>Doctoral Students<\/h2>\n    \n                    <div class=\"person-card-item\">\n                    <div class=\"person-card-column-left\">\n                                                    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"person-card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/io\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2023\/09\/Ranta-aho_Sofia-9662-10x15cm-e1694502734838.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>\n                                            <\/div>\n\n                    <div class=\"person-card-column-right\">\n                                                <p class=\"person-card-name\">Sofia Ranta-aho, MSc Pharm<\/p>\n                        \n                        \n                        \n                                                <p class=\"person-card-text\">She graduated from the\u00a0University of\u00a0Eastern Finland in\u00a02018. She prepared her MSc thesis in the\u00a0Immuno-Ophthalmology research group about\u00a0the\u00a0regulation\u00a0of NLRP3 in retinal pigment epithelial cells and\u00a0continued a\u00a0PhD project\u00a0with the same title.\u00a0Currently,\u00a0Sofia has a\u00a0temporary post at the community pharmacy.<\/p>\n                        \n                                            <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                                        <div class=\"person-card-item\">\n                    <div class=\"person-card-column-left\">\n                                                    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"person-card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/io\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2023\/09\/Toppila-Maija-7655-10x15cm-1-e1694431447306.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>\n                                            <\/div>\n\n                    <div class=\"person-card-column-right\">\n                                                <p class=\"person-card-name\">Maija Topila, MSc<\/p>\n                        \n                        \n                        \n                                                <p class=\"person-card-text\">She studied Animal Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Eastern Finland from 2011 to 2016. The practical part of her Master\u2019s thesis \u201cMitochondrial DNA replication in cells suffering from nucleotide pool imbalances\u201d was performed in the Mitochondrial biology research group at UEF (Joensuu campus).\r\nAfter graduation she started her PhD studies in the Immuno-Ophthalmology research group (Kuopio campus).\r\nThe focus in her projects is on autophagy\/mitophagy activation in retinal pigment epithelial cells.\r\n<\/p>\n                        \n                                            <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                                        <div class=\"person-card-item\">\n                    <div class=\"person-card-column-left\">\n                                                    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"person-card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/io\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2021\/02\/Tommi-Torsti.jpg\" alt=\"Tommi Torsti_kuva\" \/>\n                                            <\/div>\n\n                    <div class=\"person-card-column-right\">\n                                                <p class=\"person-card-name\">Tommi Torsti, MSc Pharm<\/p>\n                        \n                        \n                        \n                                                <p class=\"person-card-text\">He graduated from University of Eastern Finland in 2020. The practical part of his Master\u2019s thesis concentrated on kinetics and mechanics of catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibition.\r\nHe has started his PhD studies in 2021. The focus of his project is to understand the progression of retinal and neuronal CNL3 pathology and to find leads to more common mechanisms of neurodegeneration.\r\n<\/p>\n                        \n                                            <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                                        <div class=\"person-card-item\">\n                    <div class=\"person-card-column-left\">\n                                                    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"person-card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/io\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2024\/03\/Koivusalo_Kiia_0017-500x500px.jpg\" alt=\"Kiia_kuva\" \/>\n                                            <\/div>\n\n                    <div class=\"person-card-column-right\">\n                                                <p class=\"person-card-name\">Kiia Koivusalo, MSc<\/p>\n                        \n                        \n                        \n                                                <p class=\"person-card-text\">She studied Biomedicine in the University of Eastern Finland and graduated in 2023. She prepared her Master\u2019s thesis on the role of TSG-6 in inflammatory hyaluronan matrix of melanoma cells. Her PhD project is focused on the role of AIM2 inflammasome in age-related macular degeneration.<\/p>\n                        \n                                            <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"links-block\">\n\n    \n    <ul class=\"link-list\">\n        \n            \n            <li class=\"link-list-item\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.utu.fi\/tohtorikoulutuspilotti\/immudoc\/\" class=\"link-reset link hover-scale-down\">\n                    <svg\n        width=\"43\" height=\"25\"\n        viewBox=\"0 0 43 25\"\n        xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n    <path\n        d=\"M30.027 0 43 12.5 30.027 25 27 22.083 34.351 15H0v-5h34.351L27 2.917z\"\n        fill=\"currentColor\"\n        fill-rule=\"evenodd\"\/>\n<\/svg>                    <div>ImmuDocs<\/div>\n                <\/a>\n                <div class=\"link-info\">\n                                    <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n\n                <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"person-card\">\n        <h2>Technicians<\/h2>\n    \n                    <div class=\"person-card-item\">\n                    <div class=\"person-card-column-left\">\n                                                    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"person-card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/io\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2023\/09\/omakuva-2016-e1693578371575.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>\n                                            <\/div>\n\n                    <div class=\"person-card-column-right\">\n                                                <p class=\"person-card-name\">Sanna Kuusisto, PhD, Laboratory technician<\/p>\n                        \n                        \n                        \n                                                <p class=\"person-card-text\">She studied Biochemistry at the University of Oulu and graduated in 2014. Thereafter did her PhD in Medicine and worked a couple of years as a data scientist.<\/p>\n                        \n                                            <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n\n\n    <div class=\"funders grid\">\n                        <div class=\"funders__item grid__item\">\n                            <div class=\"funders__image\">\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/io\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2020\/11\/Immuno_Ophthalmology_logo-200w.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>\n                <\/div>\n                                                <\/div>\n                        \n            <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":926,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-74","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - 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